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Post by karatestu on Dec 23, 2021 8:16:20 GMT
Who here plays an instrument and what is it ? What made you choose that particular instrument and if you don't play one then is there any reason why not? Or just not bothered ? Personally I started playing drums at age 16 whilst in the final year of secondary school. One of my friends was a really good pianist and everybody thought he was really cool. He found out the school music room was free on a certain lunchtime every week. So he went down with another friend who played guitar for a few weeks. They kept hassling people to play drums with them but nobody could. I had never played a drum kit but agred to have a go. Well, that was the beginning of an obsession and a hobby which eventually turned into part time job which I did for many years whilst helping my Dad on the farm. I went on to sixth form at that school and every free lunchtime I could be found bashing the hell out of the school drum kit. I remember one time hitting the cymbal so hard it inverted to look like a China cymbal  My band mates had both left school so for two years I just played on my own. I had dropped music at third year as I found it really boring - big mistake. Meanwhile I nagged my parents for a drum kit of my own and being the laid back type, they duly obliged. Trip to a York music shop ensued where we bought a cheap kit and chucked it in the back of my Dad's pickup truck. I was lucky to live on a farm just far enough away from neighbours for the noise not to be a problem. The kit was however in my bedroom for a few years and my parents never ever asked me to stop playing and back then I would play for two to three hours everyday. I learned new things by playing along to my favourite music of the time. Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Guns n Roses and eventually Led Zep, The Doors and Pink Floyd. I joined my first band and that was the first of many many over the years. At one point I was in five at the same time all with the same bass player and we worked up quite a reputation even being paid retainers not to leave. However things were not all rosy. My musical tastes were changing and I was getting into jazz, funk, fusion which where much harder to play than what I was used to. I taught myself by playing along to the music but there came a point where my technique and lack of formal training started to hold back my development. It just so happened my sister's fiance was a pro drummer and he agreed to teach me the formal way on the cheap. I got to grade 9 because of him and it opened up a whole new world of possibilities. The bands I was in changed to reflect my new found interest in jazz and funk along with other genre's like country. The practicing never relented (hours everyday) and I just couldn't get enough of it. Eventually I got to a level of ability that I was a respected member of the York and Leeds music scene. We all new each other and I watched She'd 7's rise to popularity. One band I was in got a recording contract with a company connected to Yorkshire TV. The studio was right across the road from YTV in Leeds. Making that album was a real hoot and such a learning experience. I would be in there everyday even when it wasn't my turn to record. Ended up going to a Xmas party and meting Richard Whitely and whispering Bob. Chewed their ear off for a good while - too many drinks were consumed. That ultimately fizzled out in the end but two of our friends had been plucked from obscurity by John Squire formerly of The Stone Roses. The resulting band (The Seahorses) were quite successful with a few top 40 singles but split after only one album. Chris Helme launched straight into a solo project and I was asked to be the drummer and ofc I said yes. The old Stone Roses tour manager booked us a mini UK tour. A month of rehearsals later and we were on the road. It was the most exciting time of my life. Groupies, signing autographs, going to celebrity parties and reading about yourself in NME. It came to an end ofc and Chris Helme never really made it. I ended up playing in a long established Queen tribute band (can't stand Queen) and playing all over the UK. That was a good laugh. Biggest crowd was 5000 at Denby Dale Pie festival Several more bands have come and gone, kids put the brakes on for a while but been back at it for a few years now. Got a dinner dance gig at The Grand Hotel York on NYE but that might not happen. Gone off on a tangent here but the point was that playing an instrument is one of the most rewarding things you can do. It has been a constant source of enjoyment and relaxation for me since I was 16. I have had so many memorable times, made lots of long standing friends, entertained lots of people and eventually earned money from it (you wouldn't play wig wam bam for free would you ?). It was by chance that I ever picked up a pair of sticks and I can see me continuing into my old age. Over to you |
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Post by John on Dec 23, 2021 9:27:24 GMT
Great topic.
As a teenager, I got into NWOBHM hearing bands like Diamond Head Saxon and Maiden. I also liked bands like Rush Black Sabbath, Van Halen, Blue Oyster Cult and UFO
My early guitar heroes would be Alex from Rush, Michael from UFO, Eddie from Van Halen and of course, Randy from Ozzie Osbourne. So I had a love for the electric guitar.
I started to learn to play the guitar, including getting lessons. I found myself exploring other styles and got into Django and Bierili, so I began to learn Gypsy Jazz. This opened up me to more fusion-based playing and trying to incorporate a modal approach to my playing. New players I admired included Larry Carlton, Jeff Beck, Peter Wolpl and Kazumi Watanabe.
At this time, I was practising 6 hours a day, mostly to pull of my version of gypsy Jazz using lots of distortion. I was also influenced by violin music like Gypsy Airs by Saraste.
I played with some friends, but it never got serious, and then I did not play for many years as every time I played the guitar, my fretting hand would hurt. I later realised that this was due to the ultra-thin neck on the Ibanez Sabre 540s I had.
I hardly ever play now but will play over the Christmas period
My playing has never really been where I wanted it, but when playing 6 hours a day, it was getting close. I am a long way from that these days.
At present, I have a Levinson Blade and a Yamaha THR 30 Mk 2 that is perfect for home practice
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Post by julesd68 on Dec 23, 2021 11:21:23 GMT
As a young 'un I learnt violin, trumpet and French Horn to varying standards. I don't play any instrument now though.
My son is fortunately hugely more talented musically than I ever was!
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Post by MartinT on Dec 23, 2021 11:25:26 GMT
My son is fortunately hugely more talented musically than I ever was! So is mine and he plays guitar to a level I could only dream of. |
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Post by speedysteve on Dec 23, 2021 12:05:59 GMT
Played the clarinet in school, following in my father's footsteps who was in jazz band during his military service.
We used to duet sometimes.
The guitar had a much stronger pull by the time I was a teenager!
I played bass and vocals (sometimes lead) in a very amateur band in Linköping Sweden in the early 90s.
Marie was keyboards and vocals.
Since then it's been less and less guitar, can't remember the last time I picked it up to play!
I have a mint Simon & Patrick Woodland Spruce 12 string to sell, when I get round to it.
Keeping my old Washburn 6 string though.
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Post by ajski2fly on Dec 23, 2021 13:18:45 GMT
I started attempting to play guitar then I was 11 having sold my push bike and pestered my Mum for 6 months to help me buy a guitar, it was a F hole acoustic like a Gretsch. So I fumbled with Bert Weedons play in a day and struggled to learn stuff from records for several years. I pleaded with the head master at my school for guitar lessons from the music teacher but he refused saying I should focus on trumpet and orchestra, I dropped the trumpet (a mistake I would have learnt to read music properly and theory early on).
I fumbled along on the guitar for several years, and had a bad electric one for a while. When I went to work and live in London in 1979, a house mate played a bit and got me going again, I purchased a used Sherwood guitar and practice amp from the local music shop in Tooting Bec and took lessons there for a year or so. I also went through several guitars and ended up with a lovely maroon Gibson SG, HH amp and various foot pedals including a Memory Man(echo pedal with long delay). I replied to an advert and auditioned for a 3 piece band, 3 school friends in South London, I joined as the rhythm guitarist. We practiced at least once a week and had a girl singer for a while. My playing style was developing into becoming like early U2, Comsat Angels and similar guitar work as the Manic's. I started to write songs, music and lyrics, but the other band members except the singer were going towards early heavy metal or hard rock. Much to their annoyance I left out of the blue as I was fed up with them and not doing anything to move the band forward.
I knew a young and very good keyboard player I had shared a flat with previously, we got together and put an advert in NME for a bass player, drummer and singer, and after several auditions we formed a group. The bass player Rob was only 16, he was superb and very innovative, his father played double bass in the LSO at the time. The girl singer (a different one) was similar in style to Souxie Sou, so you get the picture, she had an excellent voice. The 4 of us wrote material, Neville the keyboard player, myself, Rob the bassist and Shauna the singer. We struggled finding a drummer but impressed one 10 years older than me who was playing with another band, so he joined up on a temporary basis for practices whilst continuing with the other band. We built a repertoire of around 16 songs and rented a Prophet 5 synth to try out some things with the songs, the chap was local to Tooting and it turned out he was something to do with the group M that did 'Pop Muzik'. He asked to hear some cassette recordings we had of us and he like them and offered to do some demo recordings of us at his studio with a view to going further. This was all arranged for a Sunday when the studio was free, unfortunately the young bass player went to a party the night before met a girl and forgot about it all, he lived miles away and it was too late by the time we contacted him, so it never happened, we missed our chance. I was so fed up with it all and also by then, as I was the main full time earner in the band, I had purchased quite a bit of kit including PA and a small mixing desk and was in debt that I should not have been. So I folded the band got out of my debts, quit the job I hated and went back to Hampshire when I was 23. That was the end of me playing guitar to any extent for many years, two years later I met my wife and we married and a career in IT took over.
I suppose I had a bit of a mid life crisis and in my mid 40s I took time out from work, I was able to do so as we had a Guest House business, and I went back to college and studied music at BTEC level, playing guitar, the course required learning 3 songs a week, soloing in a least one and performing them live at a venue in the evenings. We also learnt music theory and had to sing in at least 3 performances(very challenging), and learnt recording techniques in the college studio. The course attendees formed bands to perform each week, it was a baptism of fire for all to start with and a huge learning curve. I found performing live quite stressful and suffered with nerves and was never very happy with my performances, it was an interesting experience playing with people from 16 to mid 40's. We were playing a mixture of pop, rock and jazz numbers. I was practicing 6-8 hours a day and towards the end of the course was getting problems with my left fretting hand which at the time I thought was repetitive strain injury and I had to ease off playing. I found out about a year later it was caused by the main nerve to my left arm being crushed in my neck caused by a prolapsed disc, probably from a whiplash injury, this resulted in me having a major operation to sort it out due to the pain I was experiencing, which thankfully went well.
I can be a bit OCD when doing stuff, and when I had to stop playing I realised that I was never likely to get to the level I wanted to play at due to age and the injury. I struggled with this for a while and ultimately I just could not accept it, so I stopped playing completely and sold my guitars and gear a year or so later. Maybe I should have carried on and just got involved with some local Jazz and Rock/pop bands, I haven't really picked up and played a guitar properly now for about 10 years and have forgotten loads of what I learnt, use it or loose it as they say. I have considered buying a sensibly priced guitar and having another go for my own interest but I am not so sure about it now.
So that is my musical playing history.
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Post by Slinger on Dec 23, 2021 15:53:13 GMT
My cousin gave me my first guitar when I was 14 or 15, and I ended up playing in his blues band. It was a fairly disastrous affair, the lead singer/harp player got stage fright on the evening of our first "proper" gig, and promptly vanished, so I ended up stuck out front reading lyrics hastily scrawled on pieces of paper and trying to sing them as well. We went through a few changes, I brought a couple of mates in, who eventually buggered off and formed a duo. I did get some studio session work from them though, which was a blast. It was in the old 24-track Chappell Music studio; very posh. Eventually, we got a drummer (my cousin was, and still is, a bass player) and a second guitarist, and struggled along for a while, turning down gigs in Germany in the process. None of us really had the drive to take things to the next level though, counting silly little things like regular employment, and careers above risking everything. Not awfully rock 'n' roll, but in hindsight, I think we were right. In the meantime, I was playing in folk clubs as a "floor singer," which meant you did a couple of songs during the main act's break, and you didn't have to pay to get in. I saw some brilliant acts that way, but the one who stands out was Gordon Giltrap. The club's regular singer/guitarist had been at school with me, so there was a bit of rivalry going on when he interrupted Me and Mr Giltrap having a bit of a chinwag and managed to "drop-in" to the conversation that a couple of weeks prior to that night I'd actually played a Giltrap song at the club. He did not get the required and expected reaction though, I wasn't in the slightest bit embarrassed when Gordon blanked him asked me which song I'd played and then asked me to remind him what key it was in. Dave buggered off, deflated. Fast forward, and me an Irish mate with an excellent voice and our pub landlord got together because Roger, the landlord, wanted a " folk night," and he'd heard Pat and me singing acapella when in our cups. Oh, all right, drunk. I was a half-decent harmony singer in those days and had quite a decent range. To cut a long story VERY short, I roped in John, the owner of our local music shop, and he brought his mate Dave to the first rehearsal, and we ended up, by the night of the actual gig, as a 7-piece rock 'n' roll band. John and I alternated lead guitar parts, and his mate Dave, well to coin a phrase, he was strictly rhythm, he didn't want to make it cry or sing. John taught Carol, his wife, to play bass (having been a bass player himself in the dim and distant past) and we brought in a couple of teenagers who used his shop on drums and keyboards. Although I probably shouldn't say so, we were pretty good. Our best audience was around 3,500 for a big open-air charity gig. That was the day someone from the next village to where we actually were complained about the noise, while we were sound-checking in the afternoon. And then they sacked me. John was " old-school" and couldn't really improvise, or extemporise, to save his life. Give him a song to learn though, and he would, note-for-note, up to and including Sultans of Swing (I got lead vocals on that one) and that's what "they" ended up wanting; carbon copy covers. I have always been a blues guitarist at heart, so I tended to play "roughly" the same lead breaks, most of the time, unless note for not was absolutely called for. The really ironic thing is, they sacked Pat, the vocalist, next. so the two of us who'd started the whole thing, and brought the others in to help out were first out of the door. It's a funny old game. I remember, sometime after, sitting at Pat's after a dinner party, and arguing about discussing music. Jeanette, my late wife, weighed in with her opinion and Pat suggested that she probably didn't understand the intricacies of what we were discussing, because " we" were musicians. Now I knew that was a stupid thing to say to my wife, and Pat really should have known, She simply stared at him, smiled, and polite as you like said " I believe you mean SACKED musicians, don't you Patrick?" It's very rare he was caught speechless, but in this case, " stunned" doesn't even do it justice. I never did bother joining another band. I'd got a nice little 4-track studio at home, I bought myself a drum machine, and a synth, and satisfied my urges by writing songs, and recording them at home. Of course, then the computer age happened, and my 4-track tape deck became a how-ever-many-tracks-you-like software studio, with instruments I could only dream of owning in real-life being simulated and emulated using software. My first love is the guitar though, and despite now owning over 30 guitars and basses arthritis means I can hardly play any more. It's a good job that software emulations of famous guitars are available too. One thing I was able to do, which really pleased me was to " pay it forward" as they say. My cousin, who all those years ago gave me my first guitar, has a grandson who wanted a " proper" guitar, so I handed over one of my " old" ones, a quite decent Yamaha. He's now playing with my cousin's band, and he's not half bad either, so that's pretty much full-circle achieved. Do you know what the really daft thing is though? Even though I struggle to play these days there's still always " just one more" guitar I'd love to own, and would most probably buy if one came up at the right price. In fact, to be honest, there are two at the moment, a Gibson Les Paul Special Double-cut Tribute, and a Gibson Midtown Standard P-90. One's a solid bodied guitar, and the other is a semi-hollow (chambered) body, but they both share some DNA. They both have two single-coil P90 pickups, and they both have a single volume and single tone control. I feel the desire to go back to basics, after 50+ years. |
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Post by Slinger on Dec 23, 2021 17:17:40 GMT
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Post by John on Dec 23, 2021 17:30:23 GMT
A bit out of touch with new guitars but both look lovely I am tempted by super start for sure. I see how I am with how much I play after the Christmas break
What I love about the Blade is it's neck works so well with my hand size. However, I dislike the tremelo I now have it blocked off. Just goes out of tune to easily
I share the page with a friend who a big Larry fan and plays a lot more than me
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Post by karatestu on Dec 23, 2021 18:43:43 GMT
What really used to bug me was the lack of pianists and brass players. You really had to go searching to find and entice the decent ones. Everybody wanted to play guitar.
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Post by MartinT on Dec 23, 2021 18:50:50 GMT
Marie was keyboards and vocals. So that's how you two got together? I never did ask  |
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Post by Slinger on Dec 23, 2021 18:56:20 GMT
Guitars are "cool," and they're a 6-string orchestra. You can carry them, and make music with them, wherever you go. Try that with a Steinway, or try singing along to your own trombone playing.
I think it's down to lessons for the serious guys too. OK, piano lessons are as easy to get as guitar lessons, but they'll probably want to teach you classical piano. Same with brass instruments, if you can find a teacher the chances are they're an orchestral player looking to make a few bob on the side. Guitar players are ten-a-penny, and all styles are avaialble.
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Post by karatestu on Dec 23, 2021 20:01:16 GMT
Guitars are " cool," and they're a 6-string orchestra. You can carry them, and make music with them, wherever you go. Try that with a Steinway, or try singing along to your own trombone playing. I think it's down to lessons for the serious guys too. OK, piano lessons are as easy to get as guitar lessons, but they'll probably want to teach you classical piano. Same with brass instruments, if you can find a teacher the chances are they're an orchestral player looking to make a few bob on the side. Guitar players are ten-a-penny, and all styles are avaialble. That's probably nailed the reason why. Since I got into jazz in my early 20's I wanted to play in a band with brass. Couldn't find any bands with any never mind any that needed a drummer. Still can't find any. I think another reason you don't see many bands with brass is it increases the number of members and so the money has to be split more ways. Apart from the Queen tribute act I was in the best pay days I had was with a Jam cover band - there were only three of us Saying that my NYE gig is £310 each and it's an over rated night so why not. I haven't even seen midnight on NYE for about 12 years. It will be a dinner dance full of couples who have been married so long they have nothing left to say to each other in fact they probably hate each other but politely clap the crap songs we will be playing. Build me up buttercup is a shite song but for some reason unknown to me goes down a treat. Go figure. |
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Post by Slinger on Dec 23, 2021 20:29:40 GMT
Perhaps the crap songs remind them of times that weren't quite so crap, Stu. One thing I forgot in my answer above, by the way, is the amount of online guitar and bass tuition there is these days.
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Post by karatestu on Dec 23, 2021 21:04:01 GMT
I am somewhat dismayed by the number of people who have said they started to learn to play an instrument often when young but somehow fell out with it. Being a glass half empty kind of guy it could have been very easy for me to give up and there were many times that I felt like doing so. No pain no gain as they say. Best thing I ever did apart from having kids.
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Post by MartinT on Dec 23, 2021 21:41:43 GMT
I would have loved to learn guitar back in my school days. However, that opportunity is long missed and I far prefer to listen to the professionals than to my no doubt appalling attempts to learn it now.
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Post by John on Dec 23, 2021 21:41:49 GMT
In my case, I have not fallen out of love with playing the guitar. I know I will play again during the holidays, but I also know after work, I don't feel inspired to play
The hardest bit for me was when I felt good enough to play in a band live. I had to stop as my hand just was in too much pain.
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Post by stanleyb on Dec 23, 2021 22:07:38 GMT
I used to play the flute and piano, but that's decades ago. My kids have been sent to music classes however to play various instruments. My youngest son studied music at uni.
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Post by petea on Dec 23, 2021 22:17:25 GMT
I learned piano from the age of 6 to 18 and can still read music. I was never especially good (read, too lazy to practice) and let it lapse. However, I returned to it in my early 30s from a while, but didn't persist. My old piano returned to me a few years back and I had it restored and have started to play again and also bought an electric piano in Germany. Aside from trying to remember what the years has erased, I have also always wanted to play the piano accordion and bought a used one a few years ago: tricky little buggers! One of the reasons for returning to piano was to get my right-hand skills back so I wouldn't need to think about it and so concentrate on trying to figure out what all those buttons do on the other side! The past 2 years has stolen all of my spare time though, but hopefully 2022 will allow me to get back to it again.
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Post by karatestu on Dec 24, 2021 9:20:10 GMT
I would have loved to learn guitar back in my school days. However, that opportunity is long missed and I far prefer to listen to the professionals than to my no doubt appalling attempts to learn it now. You don't know how bad it will be until you give it a go. Or try harmonica instead I always wanted to play harmonica but that might be something to do with liking Bob Dylan. Although drumming was my main income for a number of years I don't consider myself anything like Buddy Rich in the talent stakes. If we all gave up because we were not as good as our heroes then there would be no musicians. Buddy Rich never had a lesson in his life but was (arguably) the greatest drummer of the 20th century. Some of the best music made has been by people with mediocre ability (classical is different). |
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My band mates had both left school so for two years I just played on my own. I had dropped music at third year as I found it really boring - big mistake.
